Quick Tips for Sellers: How to Stage Your Kitchen

How to Stage Your Kitchen

When you sell your house, the kitchen should wow potential buyers. What doesn’t wow potential buyers? Kitchen clutter. Magnets and photos all over the fridge, cookbooks, food, and utensils littering the counter tops–these items, even if organized, make the space feel (and look) like a complete mess. We’ve got some quick tips for you today on how to stage your kitchen so that you show off its best features and hide its worst.

Limit Counter Items to 4 or 5

Keep countertops clear except for four to five items. You want the kitchen to look clean and be devoid of clutter, but not so clean that it feels sterile. Set out three glass jars of varying sizes filled with lemons, limes, and oranges for a pop of color. Set out a loaf of bread, napkin, knife and a bottle of wine to suggest a dinner party. Each item you leave on the counter should be intentional and help the buyer imagine how they might enjoy the space.

Clean Everything Until It Sparkles

The biggest piece of kitchen staging is to clean every surface, nook, and cranny so that the kitchen feels like a brand new renovation even if it’s 10 years old. Run the dishwasher empty with a cup of baking soda or a few lemon peels, scrub under stove grates, wipe down all cabinets and polish counters until they shine.

Set Out Flowers

Add color and life to your space with one or two clear vases filled with the fresh cut flowers of the season.

Replace Knobs

Replacing all drawer pulls and cabinet knobs instantly brings new life into the kitchen. Be sure to choose a sleek, classic design like a simple silver circle or, if you have an all white space, a rose gold square to add some elegance.

Polish and Scrub Cabinets

Even if your cabinets feel dated you should try and DIY rehab them before spending thousands to replace everything. Most likely a good scrub and polish will be all you need to give the kitchen a facelift and make a good impression on buyers. First, scrub the cabinets inside and out with a solution of Murphy’s Oil Soap and hot water. Then, give all cabinet doors a thorough polish with Howard Feed In Wax. Tighten all hinges.

There you have it! Your kitchen is clean, staged, and ready for a photoshoot and for buyers to walk in the door.